Tag Archives: Mexico
Armón Delivers Ultra – Modern Tuna Vessel
The Mexican shipowner Grupomar, owned by the well-known Mexican-Spanish businessman Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez, took delivery at the end of March of the most modern tuna vessel in the Americas. Astilleros Armón built María de Jesús at its facilities in Gijón, Asturias. María de Jesús is a substantial vessel, with a 79.23 metre (259′) overall length and a beam of 13.65 meters (44.7′). It has a top operational speed of 18 knots and tank capacity for 1200 tonnes of frozen tuna and carries a crew of around thirty. photos, >click to read< 21:15
Canada, U.S., Mexico to vote on investigation into U.S. efforts to protect right whales
A complaint, filed under the new North American free trade agreement, will force Canada, the U.S., and Mexico to pass judgment on efforts by the United States to protect North Atlantic right whales. “We recommended an independent investigation. We are looking forward to hearing a response and the position from the governments,” Paolo Solano, legal director for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, said in Halifax this week. The commission is mandated under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to investigate claims a country is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws. Last year, an American environmental group, Oceana, filed a complaint against the United States about protections for the North Atlantic right whale. >click to read< 07:51
Let’s go to Canada! 60 thousand offer to those who know how to wash fish
Canada based company, located in Quebec, offers jobs for Mexicans with fish washing experience. The best part is that there is a striking salary of 60 thousand pesos a month. Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS)Through its employment portal, published a vacancy of a Canadian company dedicated to the processing of fish and shellfish, looking for Mexican Workers what Doesn’t necessarily know how to speak English or French Official languages of that country to operate in the 2023 fishing season. STPS indicates that this is a six-month contract and may vary slightly in line with the actual duration of the 2023 fishing season. The requirements are: >click to read the details< 20:45
Lobster Fishermen in Mexico’s Yucatán Organize to Protect Their Catch
For the last four months, fishermen in the community of Río Lagartos, Yucatán, have operated as a vigilante group to protect lobster populations on local fishing grounds, according to a report (photos) by newspaper Milenio. The group is made up of five fishing cooperatives, who stated that a sharp rise in illegal fishing had led to a rapid decline in lobster stocks. The fishermen reported that on July 1, the first day of the open season, which usually yields the largest lobster hauls, the catch was two-thirds lower than usual. Where each boat would normally catch 60 kilograms of lobster a day, they barely made it to 20 kilograms this year, Milenio reported. >click to read< 19:14
North Atlantic Right Whale: Oceana Wins First Step In USMCA Complaint
The Secretariat for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), has agreed to move forward with the first step in a two-step process to investigate the USA’s failure to uphold its environmental laws to protect North Atlantic right whales, according to an Oceana announcement this week. The decision was in response to Oceana’s filing the first-ever “Submission on Enforcement Matters” against the US government under the USMCA last October. The ocean advocacy organization claimed the government has violated the USMCA by failing to enforce environmental laws to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, of which only around 330 remain. >click to read< 14:53
Yucatecan fisherman survives four days at sea clinging to a cooler
A cooler saved the life of Erick AEH, a fisherman from Celestún , who was shipwrecked on Monday, January 31, when the boat sank while returning from fishing. After two days of drifting in that fiberglass structure, a merchant ship en route to Florida rescued him on Wednesday. The fisherman was found about 50 or 60 miles from the coast, the currents and swells moved him away from the site of the shipwreck that occurred about 24 miles off the coast of Celestún. >click to read< 09:25
U.S. puts restrictions on Mexican boats over illegal fishing
The U.S. government is putting restrictions on Mexican fishing boats entering U.S. ports over allegations that the Mexican government has failed to prevent illegal fishing in U.S. waters. Starting Feb. 7, all Mexican fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico will be prohibited from entering U.S. ports. “This is an example of how rampant illegal fishing is in Mexico,” said Alejandro Olivera with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Mexican fisheries enforcement has been weakened since the start of this administration.” >click to read< 09:50
Giant sea bass: scientific research that found them critically endangered stopped at US-Mexico border
Giant sea bass live off the west coast of North America in both Mexican and U.S. waters. I have found that large differences in regulation and research effort between the two countries has led to a significant misunderstanding of giant sea bass population health. In California, commercial fishing for the species began in the late 1880s. Large fish used to be very abundant across the entire range, but the fishery collapsed in the early 1970s. As a response, in 1981 the U.S. banned both commercial and recreational fishing for giant sea bass, and there are many ongoing research and population recovery efforts today. The collapse and subsequent protection and flurry of research in the U.S. stand in stark contrast to Mexico. >click to read< by Arturo Ramírez-Valdez 12:14
‘Eye of fire’ Near Offshore Platform in Mexico Extinguished
Bright orange flames jumping out of water resembling molten lava was dubbed an “eye of fire” on social media due to the blaze’s circular shape, as it raged a short distance from a Pemex oil platform. The fire took more than five hours to fully put out, according to Pemex. The fire began in an underwater pipeline that connects to a platform at Pemex’s flagship Ku Maloob Zaap oil development, the company’s most important, four sources told Reuters earlier. >click to read< 12:49
US Embargo Hits Mexican Shrimp Industry Hard
The United States has suspended certification of wild-caught Mexican shrimp, preventing producers from export part of their production to the USA. Already financially weakened Mexican shrimp exporters are confident that the decision will be reversed soon, but have concerns about the severe economic consequences. US inspectors identified non-conformities in the turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in dozens of fishing gears inspected at Sonora, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Campeche ports. News of the embargo was received with concern by the shrimp fishermen all over Mexico. ‘But we haven’t felt any impact yet, given that we had already exported all stocks and we’re now waiting for the next shrimp season to start in September,’ >photos, click to read< 13:13
US shuts off Mexico shrimp imports
Mexico said Friday it will try to regain U.S. certification for shrimp exports, after the country lost its registration because of inadequate protections for sea turtles. Mexico’s agriculture department said it will take corrective measures and carry out training to ensure Mexican trawl-net shrimp boats don’t sweep up sea turtles as by-catch. The Department of State said the U.S. ban coincides with the closure of Mexico’s shrimp fishing season. >click to read< 13:30
14,000 liters of fuel spilled when shrimp boat sinks after collision with ferry off Sinaloa
A shrimp boat sank Wednesday after a collision with a ferry off Topolobampo, Sinaloa, causing the discharge of 14,000 liters of fuel. Authorities in the nearby town of Ahome have asked beach-goers not to enter the water and are monitoring beaches for any fuel that might wash ashore. According to Baja Ferries, the Mexico Star was following its usual Topolobampo – La Paz route, carrying passengers and cargo, when it struck a fishboat with seven people on board. The ferry tried to communicate with visual and audio signals as well as by radio but the fishing vessel did not respond, Two crew members on the shrimp boat were seriously injured. >click to read< 17:15
International sea cucumber kingpin implicated in new smuggling case
When Wei Li walked across the southern US border into San Ysidro, California in September, he told US border officers—twice—that he had nothing to declare. He was lying. An x-ray of Li’s bag detected an “anomaly,” and the officers looked inside. According to a search warrant application filed in federal court, they found 46 sea cucumbers weighing about 2.5 pounds. It turns out the illegal sea cucumber trade is a serious problem. >click to read< 17:46
Fishermen in Mexico shoot down environmental group’s drone
The environmental group Sea Shepherd says fishermen fired 25 shots at one of its night-vision drones in Mexico’s Gulf of California, bringing it down. Various drones have been employed to patrol the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, to combat illegal fishing and save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise. Sea Shepherd has been the target of demonstrations by fishermen in the past, but said the Christmas Eve shooting represented “a new level of violence.” click here to read the story 15:39
Mexico plans immediate action on US imports after WTO tuna ruling over USA “dolphin-safe” labeling
However, the ruling could be overturned later this year if a subsequent WTO decision finds the United States has stopped discriminating against tuna caught by its southern neighbor. The World Trade Organization ruled Tuesday that Mexico’s tuna industry has been harmed by USA “dolphin-safe” labeling rules and says the country can seek retaliatory measures worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Mexico’s economy ministry said it planned immediate action to initiate the trade sanctions. Ruling on the tuna dispute, a WTO arbitrator said earlier on Tuesday that Mexico can impose annual trade sanctions worth $163.23 million against the United States. The US insists that any Mexican tuna sold in the US must be “dolphin safe”, meaning dolphins weren’t killed by tuna fisherman, which was once common. The WTO agreed and ruled that Mexico could place trade sanctions on the USA of up to $163 million a year, enough to make up Mexico’s estimated loss. “Today’s WTO decision threatens to punish USA families for the crime of having a label on tuna cans that saves dolphins’ lives”. click here to read the story 16:23
Greenpeace – Just 97 of the ‘world’s cutest’ sea mammals remain – Are these people for real?!?!
One of the world’s “cutest” sea mammals is at risk of extinction unless a ruling is passed to protect the vaquita porpoise. 
Mexico has one last chance to save the creature – a small, shy porpoise, described by one scientist as looking like “they’re wearing lipstick and mascara”. It is only found in a 4,000sq km region of the Gulf of Mexico Read the rest here 20:25
Pacific Bluefin tuna fishery on the hook
The U.S. sport fishery is only a portion of the total catch of bluefin throughout the Pacific, and U.S. commercial fishing operations play an even smaller role. Commercial fisheries in Mexico, Japan, Korea and Taiwan out of bluefin, and are also under pressure to act. Japan recently agreed to cut its commercial catch by half, and both the U.S. and Mexico recently closed their commercial fisheries, Read the rest here 11:47
After closing its waters to all fishing for bluefin tuna, Mexico reopened its waters on Sunday
Ken Franke couldn’t explain it, but inexplicably, just as quick as Mexico closed its waters to bluefin fishing, it reopened them Sunday to recreational fishing. Suspect environmental groups, using the usual junk science,,, <Read more here> 08:00
Trade Dispute With Mexico Over ‘Dolphin-Safe’ Tuna Heats Up
The fight over Mexican tuna, and whether it is truly fished using dolphin safe practices, rages on. Mexico recently won a two decade long fight to get its tuna labeled dolphin safe. The WTO this month ruled in its favor. But the U.S. still refuses to allow Mexican tuna with a dolphin safe label on store shelves. Mexico says it’s had enough and is preparing to retaliate with trade sanctions on U.S. imports. Ensenada, Baja California, was once the thriving heart of the Mexican tuna industry. more@npr 16:41
Mexico wins complaint over U.S. rules for dolphin-safe tuna fishing – NOAA proposal irks Mexico
When President Obama dined with Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto this month at the Mexican leader’s official residence, the meal started with “laminas de atun,” thin slices of tuna. The appetizer was not a surprising choice. Mexico has tried to get its yellowfin tuna on American plates for decades. Its fishermen are essentially frozen out of the lucrative U.S. market because they catch tuna with a method that has led to the demise of millions of dolphins, and falls below a standard U.S. officials set as “dolphin safe.” continued
